Name: Fortune Global 500 Summit: A conversation with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins
Uploaded: 2021-10-18
Duration: 10 min 2 s
Description: Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins sits down with Fortune CEO Alan Murray at the Fortune Global 500 Summit.

Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins sits down with Fortune CEO Alan Murray at the Fortune Global 500 Summit.

Fortune Global 500 Summit: A conversation with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins

International

A conversation with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins

I'm joined now by chuck, Robbins. Ceo of Cisco chuck, thanks so much for taking the time to be with us today. Alan it's always a pleasure to see you. It's great to be here today. So, so you said in your investor day presentation that every customer you talked to says digital transformation is accelerating. We've got these big new technologies out there cloud five G, the internet of things, machine learning, completely changing the business landscape. Can you talk about what that means for Cisco and what it means for business more broadly? Yeah. Alan it is it's incredible what we've seen as we've come out the other side and at various stages, obviously around the world relative to getting through this pandemic. But companies all around the world know that we're gonna get to the other side or they just know they're going to have to operate in a consistent uh, Siri timeframe of uncertainty. And so we've seen every customer around the world focused on modernizing their technology infrastructure. They're all re architect in their applications to be more cloud friendly. They're all looking at security differently than they have in the past and they're all focused on hybrid work and how they enable hybrid work going forward. And they're very adaptable way. And so technologies like five G wifi six, the 400 gig transition, hybrid cloud that you mentioned, all of these are major transitions that are going on IOT. Uh and these are all driving the need to continue investing in technology and I think the other thing that we saw during the pandemic was that every ceo see xo around the world, every government leader got up close and personal to the technology and they realize how powerful it is and what it can do for their organizations. So they're giving their teams to go ahead to just keep moving leveraging technology for all the key differentiators that they want for the future. And as the guy at the top of the company uh speaking to other people who run companies, how does that change the way you lied? What how does that rapid pace of digital transfer information affect leadership? I think it requires you to embrace team developed strategy. The first and foremost, there was there was a time where one individual could set the strategy for an organization and I just don't think that's possible anymore. It's too complicated. It's moving too fast and so you really need to spend a lot of time together. My team and I spend more time together today than we did five years ago because of the complexity of what we're trying to accomplish and what our customers are trying to do. So I think that's the first thing. Second thing is you just have to fundamentally innovate faster and you have to probably move with less information and less facts than you would normally and you have to make decisions and adjust on the fly much more so than you would have in the past. And I think the other thing that's super important right now is that we have to work with our teams to ensure that everything we're doing has security built in from the very beginning. Uh It's just such a critical aspect of everything we do. Uh And so those are just some of the areas that I think are different today based on the speed at which things are moving. And those are, those are very big differences. So you're moving Cisco from a business of selling equipment to one of software and really from sales to subscriptions. Why are those big shifts important? Well, we're making the shift to more software in our portfolio for sure. We are also still building incredible high performance hardware and some of the best hardware in silicon in the business because the internet needs high performance hardware in silicon. But the reality is is that if you can solve a problem or you can help a customer attack an opportunity through software you can just move faster. And if software is adequate, then we wanted to focus on software. It allows us to innovate faster, provide more new functionality. Uh It's easier for customers to deal with. It allows us to deliver it from the cloud which allows us to do continuous innovation and all those platforms. And also for a company that gives us more predictability in our business model which is also nice and our shareholders like it. So it's been a uh it's been a great move for us our fiscal year that we just ended 44% of our revenue came from subscriptions, which was up significantly from 56 years ago And we had, you know, we exited four with a $16 billion dollars software run rate. So we've, the team has done a great job Subscriptions, now, five or six years ago, less than 10. It was less than 20 for sure, less than 20. Um, uh, so chuck another thing about your company and congratulations for this. Uh, in 2021, you were at the very top of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for list. I'd love to know what your secret is, but also why it's so important to you to be on that list and be high on that list. Well, I'm, I'm incredibly proud of our team because we actually topped that list two years in a row. And it's a real honor. And I think it's reflective of, you know, it's, it's a, uh, an honor that comes from our employees feedback in this survey. And I think it's reflective of the fact that employees want to work for companies who have a well defined purpose that they not only talk about, but they truly believe in and their actions follow that purpose. And in 2019 we launched a new purpose as an organization which is to power an inclusive future for all. And we believe that that's done through our technology through the beliefs and who we are as an organization and candidly our community actions and countries all around the world. And so I think our employees are really proud of that. I'd say the other thing we do is we communicate frequently transparently and authentically and we are honest with our teams about all sorts of complex issues and so it's, I don't know, it's a combination of those things, but I'm really proud of what the team's done and uh, and you know, we're really happy about the, the honor and thank you for Yeah, well, congratulations on that. You've also made a big commitment to sustainability. How how does that fit into the equation? Well, our teams have been leading this charge for years back in 2000 and 2005, 6 in there, we actually made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% I think by 2020 or something in that neighborhood. And the teams were on track to do that. So we believe that it's super important. It's important for the world. I mean, this is a, it's very clear that the climate change is real, the disasters that we're seeing all around the world. And so as companies, we all need to do our part. So we announced, you know, net, zero scope one and two by 2025 scope 12 and three by 2040. And the other thing I would say is that not only is it a good thing to do for Cisco, it's a good thing to do for the climate, it's actually going to be a business driver for us because you mentioned iot earlier and a lot of the initiatives that are being driven around sustainability are going to be enabled by connecting industrial systems so that we can then automate them, make them more efficient, uh make them, you know, enable them to use less energy. So it's all very connected. Yeah. You're speaking to a chinese audience, you made a significant acquisition in china this year. So the chinese market is obviously important to you. But you also know that we're in this odd uh political period and we're seeing a decoupling of technology businesses in the U. S. And in china. Um and the possibility of different regulatory regimes, different rules, different standards, different fundamental technologies. Well, how do you view that and is decoupling a good thing or a bad thing? Well, first of all I wish I could be there in person because it's one of my favorite places to visit. And I look forward to a time where we can actually get out and visit China again. Uh look, we've been in China for 30 years. We've been invested in driving education and and our community service actions. So we're very committed to China. I believe that the world is a better place when U. S. And china have stable relations and we're working towards, you know something that's positive, we may have disagreements but I really believe the global economy is better off when we're actually working together. And so what we want to do is continue to be an example of a U. S. Company that can try to help navigate the complex world that we live in. Because I don't think decoupling is is the right thing. And I think we've seen some of the issues associated with that over the last year and I just think they're generally negative. You're you're speaking to a group that's gathered to celebrate the fortune. Global 500 list but also to share best practices on how to build great companies. You've clearly done that at Cisco and on on any metric what's your advice to the group? What's the secret to building a great company that will last for the long haul. You know, I I think some of the some of the things that you have to do our our old mantra is related to business and it really starts with the people on the team. I mean it is so important to get the right team in place because when you get the right team then they'll get the right teams and they'll get the right teams and you end up with a great group of people that are very motivated. But I will say in today's world purpose matters purpose matters to your employees and I'll also say that communication matters. Our employees want to hear from me. They want to hear what we stand for as a company. They want to hear our position on complex topics. And it's not always easy. But I think that's another key aspect of building a great company out. That's great. Well, thank you. Thank you so much for spending some time with us today and sharing your wisdom. Always a pleasure. Thank you for having me.